Carl W. Kenney II is an award winning columnist and novelist. He is committed to engaging readers into a meaningful discussion related to matters that impact faith and society. He grapples with pondering the impact faith has on public space while seeking to understand how public space both hinders and enhances the walk of faith.

Friday, December 13, 2013

Is Christmas for white kids?

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News alert! Christmas is for white people.

Santa Claus is white and so is Jesus. It’s a fact. So,
stop complaining black people.Stick
with Kwanza to express your need to be affirmed.

The news flash came from Fox News anchor Megyn
Kelly.Kelly blasted a blogger for
sharing the angst she felt seeing a white Santa Claus as a child and a black
Santa at home.

“Santa is one of the first iconic figures foisted upon
you: He exists as an incredibly powerful image in the imaginations of children
across the country (and beyond, of course), Harris writes. “That this genial,
jolly man can only be seen as white—and consequently, that a Santa of any other
hue is merely a“joke” or a chance to
trudge out racist stereotypes—helps perpetuate the whole “white-as-default”
notion endemic to American culture (and, of course, not just American culture).”

Kelly’s response proved both a lack of sensitivity and
knowledge related to the identity of the historical Jesus.

"By the way, for you kids watching at home, Santa
is white. But this person is arguing that maybe we should also have a black
Santa. But you know, Santa is what he is, and just so you know, we're just
debating this because someone wrote about it, kids," Kelly said.

Maybe it would have helped if Kelly prefaced her
comments with “white kids.”“By the way,
for you white kids watching at home...”That would make it easier for the rest of us to swallow the hyperbole
she spewed like proven fact.

Kelly’s insistence in protecting the traditional American
spin on the Christmas story may reflect an even deeper concern regarding the
way Christianity is understood as a valuation of white privilege.Affirming Jesus and St. Nick as white men
distances white people as the esteemed race of Christianity.

Don’t get upset white kids.Santa and Jesus are white.Don’t worry; you are the chosen of God.Our white skin proves our place among the
rest, and there’s nothing anyone can say to change our special place among the
rest.

That’s what I read between the lines.

It’s presuppositions like these that have led to deep pondering
related to the practice of Christianity within the context of white
privilege.Theologians like James Cone,
Gayarud Wilmore and J. Deotis Roberts forced questions that led to the study of
Black Theology. It’s why Robert E. Wood asked Must God Remain Greek?

Put another way, black scholars maintain substantial divergence
with the way Christianity is avowed as an endorsement of American culture and
white privilege.These scholars grapple
with how the study of black radicalism is sacrificed in the celebration of Dr. King’s
dream. Nonviolent resistance, and the love ethic, take center stage, while the
grip of historical, institutionalized evils becomes a conversation related to
days before this post-race era.

There’s no place to discuss race. Santa is white, and
so is Jesus.So, shut up black people!

Got that White Kids?

As for Black Kids, deal with it.Bow to our white God! Pray that our white
Jesus hears your prayers and that white Santa has time to throw a few crumbs
over in your neighborhood.The Christmas
story isn’t about you, or any other race of people.

Christmas is for white people!

It gives new meaning to dreaming of a “white Christmas”.

Is Kelly dreaming for the ghost of Christmas past? Does she want a Christmas with Bing Cosby
singing with no black people on the set to remind her of life on the other side
of the tracks?Does she want a world
devoid of black people and their issues, and reminders of thoughts of her quest
for supremacy?

Memo to FOX TV:Christmas is for black people.It’s
also for Asian, Latino and people of mixed race.

As for Jesus, he wasn’t white. He was made white by
those who fashioned him into their own image to justify their hatred for
others.Do your homework before giving lecture
to children. And, please remember, black and brown children are watching

Thank God for the Black Messiah.By the way, God is a God of the oppressed.

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Carl W. Kenney II

Carl was named the best serious columnist of 2011 by the North Carolina Press Association for his work with the News & Observer's community paper The Durham News and in 2016 by the Missouri Press Association for his columns in the Columbia Missourian. He is a columnist with the News & Observer and Co-Executive Producer of "God of the Oppressed" an upcoming documentary film on black liberation theology. He is a former Adjunct Professor at the University of Missouri - School of Journalism and Adjunct Instructor at Duke University, the Center for Documentary Studies. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He furthered his education at Duke University and attained a Master of Divinity. He was named a Fellow in Pastoral Leadership Development at the Princeton Theological Seminary on May 14, 2005. He is a freelance writer with his commentary appearing in The Washington Post, Religious News Services,The Independent Weekly and The Durham Herald-Sun. Carl is the author of two novels: “Preacha’ Man” and the sequel “Backslide”.
He has led congregations in Missouri and North Carolina